Marked as Travellers

Paddy Keenan has been described as the greatest living exponent of the uilleann (from uillinn, the Irish for elbow; pronounced “il-in”) pipes as well as a master whistle-player.

Traveller piping employs an open-fingering system – as opposed to closed or “tight” (more staccato) piping – and facilitates speed and execution of complex ornamentation. Apart from his technical expertise, Paddy is a highly expressive musician and is sought out for his sensitivity in playing as a sideman for singers and other instrumentalists.

Paddy Keenan was born in Trim, County Westmeath in 1950. His father aimed to keep a low profile with regard to Traveller ethnicity and to pass as the head of a settled family. Nonetheless, the Keenans were seen as Travellers by neighbours and, accordingly, were harassed and confronted on a daily basis – in local shops and at school.

If the local environment was hostile, home, at least, offered comparative security and deep immersion in music.

The Bothy Band

In 1975, Paddy and his colleagues formed the Bothy Band, the pre-eminent traditional band of the seventies. Although they lasted only until 1979, their influence extended far and wide through concert tours and festival appearances throughout Europe and North America. Their six recordings continue to be among the top-selling traditional music recordings of all time.

The band’s combination of skilful instrumentalists on pipes, flute and fiddle with compelling vocalists and highly rhythmic accompaniment and arrangements continues to serve as a template for traditional Irish groups even today, some forty years later. Paddy’s piping is rightly credited as giving the band much of its expressive power.

Paddy’s later career has taken him all over the globe: he has toured across Japan, and throughout Europe, Australia, the US and Canada. He has composed music for films and recorded some fifteen albums. In 2011 Paddy was the recipient of the Irish Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

He has been involved in the movement for Traveller rights since the early 1960s.